Where do I begin? The Goldfinch. The Goldfinch. It still hasn't entirely sunk in that Donna Tartt has written another novel; that it is out this year; that it is called The Goldfinch. And yet I have read a proof copy of it, all 771 pages, kindly sent to me by someone at Little, Brown.… Continue reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Tag: Fiction
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
I think it is far to say that in the time since it has been published, less than a month, Burial Rites has become a bit of a 'sensation'. It is everywhere, and everyone seems to be talking about it. I don't usually rush to read books that have a lot of hype around them,… Continue reading Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
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Monsieur Le Commandant by Romain Slocombe
Gallic Books kindly offered to send me a review copy of Monsieur Le Commandant - the cover got me straight away. A beautiful graphic font, not too busy, and a French stamp mingled with a Nazi eagle in the corner - something that becomes more and more poignant and chilling as you make your way… Continue reading Monsieur Le Commandant by Romain Slocombe
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The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
When The Age of Miracles came out last year it was a very 'buzzy' book that got a lot of good reviews, both in media and the blogosphere. It was also very popular and much talked-about because it was Karen Thompson Walker's first novel, and was written in the mornings before she went to work as a book… Continue reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
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Review: A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen
Elizabeth Bowen is widely considered to be one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, but she only came to my attention about a year ago when one of my favourite bloggers, Book Snob, AKA Rachel, wrote a review of her novel The House In Paris. Rachel has reviewed several of Bowen's novels and… Continue reading Review: A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen
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Review: Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson (Man Booker Prize 2013 Longlist)
Almost English came to me by chance, and I was instantly taken with its cover (they are so, so important, aren't they?). It is not only striking but carefully designed, and modern too. 'Modern' - what I mean by that really is that it does not look like a lot of other book covers knocking… Continue reading Review: Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson (Man Booker Prize 2013 Longlist)
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The Man Booker Prize Longlist 2013 Is Announced!
Literary prizes are always fun: plenty of speculation and eager guesses, plus loads of reviews and recommendations to savour. There are also the bloggers who try to read whole longlists and shortlists, whom I really admire because I could never take on that amount of reading with a deadline! And the nominated books are always… Continue reading The Man Booker Prize Longlist 2013 Is Announced!
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Review: The State We’re In by Adele Parks
This is the first Adele Parks book that I have read; her work has always seemed a bit too 'chick lit' for me and I was never attracted. Headline very kindly sent me a review copy of The State We're In, and there's a lot of buzz around it, so I thought it was worth… Continue reading Review: The State We’re In by Adele Parks
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Kipling and Trix by Mary Hamer (2012)
The premise for this novel is simple - that the story of Rudyard Kipling's sister Trix is fascinating. Who even knew he had a sister, the blurb exclaims. Author Mary Hamer wrote a blog post for me about why she chose to write about Trix (read it here) and I loved the idea of exploring… Continue reading Kipling and Trix by Mary Hamer (2012)
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Congratulations Ros Barber!
I know I'm a bit late here but I just wanted to say a massive congratulations to Ros Barber and to her publishers Sceptre for her verse novel (is that the right phrase?) The Marlowe Papers winning the Desmond Elliott Prize for Debut Fiction 2013. There's a great website all about the book here, and… Continue reading Congratulations Ros Barber!
These Little Words 